136 
hardly struggling, but touching its enemy with the palpi. Thus 
it was soon overcome, killed and devoured. In hke manner 
are all the crickets disposed of. 
In about three and a half days the larva is full-fed and ready 
to spin its cocoon. It is now about 10 mm. long, with a medium- 
sized head bearing bidentate mandibles. Anteriorly the lateral 
tubercles are rather prominent. It commences its new vocation 
by spinning some strands of silk, which it fastens to opposing 
walls, and soon suspends itself in the hammock thus formed. 
From this point of vantage it reaches down, grasps particles of 
soil in its mandibles, draws back, at the same time leaving a 
thread fastened to the wall, and agglutinizes the particles about 
its body in the form of a narrow and moist ring, (Fig. 67). Dur- 
ing this process its lower lip moves with almost vibrating rapidity. 
In one case observed the width of the ring at the end of thirteen 
hours was about one-quarter the length of the grub. The latter, 
notwithstanding its corpulence, is very flexible. It will squeeze 
its head between ring and body and thus work its way to a 
reverse position, w hence it will begin building on this edge of the 
band, which is more or less suspended by radiating silken strands. 
After working in this position for about a half hour it will again 
reverse and build up the opposite edge. This band, which is of 
hardly greater diameter than the grub’ s body, is of considerable 
length (or width) before it is closed up at both ends. Exteriorly 
at least the cocoon is completed within eighteen hours. It is of 
rather brittle consistency, with the head end lighter brown than 
the rest. 
One cocoon measured 8.8 x 3 mm.; another, 7.4.x 2.7 mm. 
A female wasp emerged from one of the above on or about 
December 17. Many adults were seen in November and Decem- 
ber. The life-cycle is approximately: Egg stage, 36 hours ; feed- 
ing larval stage, 314 days; cocoon stage, 24 days. Total, 29 days. 
Cratolarra pitamawa Rohwer. 
Length 8-9 mm.; black; pygidium almost bare, polished. 
Cratolarra was several times observed ae and as far as 
could be observed she makes short, one-celled burrows, which 
are stored with a young gryllid cricket, more or less incapacitated 
with a sting. The egg is laid transv ersely under the thorax and 
the burrow is then closed, the wasp bringing in bits of earth with 
her mandibles. Incubation is a little less than two days; the 
young BruD, first immovably placed, sucks out its victim’s juices, 
but later, gaining in strength, devours also the harder parts of its 
